The Charlotte 49ers upset Louisville, 87-65, on Saturday to hand the Cardinals their worst loss at Freedom Hall in the last nine years. The 22-point margin was the widest in Rick Pitino’s tenure as head coach in Louisville.
The game was Charlotte’s last visit to Freedom Hall, as the Cardinals will move to a new Downtown Arena for their next season.
Freshman center Chris Braswell led the way for the 49ers, scoring 21 points and grabbing 14 rebounds. The performance was his third double-double of the season. Sophomore Derrio Green added a career-first scoring 20 points, including 4-of-8 shooting from 3-point range. Redshirt freshman Shamarr Bowden also had a big game from deep, shooting 5-of-12 on the way to scoring 17 points.
The 49ers started quickly, leading by 15 at the halftime break. Charlotte then scored the first seven points of the second half to put the game on ice. The No. 20 team, Louisville, never cut the lead to fewer than 14 in the second half.
Center Samardo Samuels led the Cardinals with 14 points, while Jared Swopshire grabbed eight boards.
Rams earn comeback win
Rhode Island battled back to defeat Providence, 86-82, at the Ryan Center on Saturday. The Rams outscored the Friars, 51-33, in the second half to overcome a 14-point halftime deficit.
Senior guard Keith Cothran scored 19 points, including going 7-for-7 from the free throw line, to lead five Rhode Island players in double figures.
Senior Lamonte Ulmer had 13, junior Delroy James added 12, freshman Akeem Richmond tossed in 11 and sophomore Orion Outerbridge chipped in 10 points for the victory. Rhode Island has had five players score in double figures in three games this season.
The Rams pressured Providence into a season-high 19 turnovers, and held the Friars to 36.7 percent shooting in the second half. Rhode Island set the tone for the game early, troubling Providence into three turnovers in its first five possessions.
Forward Jamie Peterson scored 20 points on 7-of-15 shooting and snagged 11 boards in the loss. Guard Sharaud Clark added 17 points, and Vincent Council scored 16 points and grabbed six rebounds off the bench.
Owls tie school’s best start
Temple defeated Penn State, 45-42, in a defensive struggle at the Liacouras Center on Saturday. The two teams combined for the second-fewest points in the arena’s 13-year history.
The Owls improved to 6-2 with the victory, which marks the best start for the team since the 1999-00 squad that also won six of its first eight contests.
Senior Ryan Brooks led the way, scoring 19 points in the victory. He was the lone bright spot on offense for the Owls, who had no other players reach double figures. Forward Lavoy Allen brought down 13 rebounds in the game.
Penn State All-American candidate Talor Battle, who entered the game averaging 20.1 points per game, was held to eight points on 3-of-15 shooting. Guard Chris Babb led the Nittany Lions with 11 points off the bench in the loss.
Ben Lambert can be reached at [email protected].
